


So Much Left Unspoken

by meridian_rose (meridianrose)



Series: I Have Inside Me Blood of Kings [2]
Category: Da Vinci's Demons
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Humor, Cross-Posted on LiveJournal, Cross-posted on Dreamwidth, Gen, Immortality, Not Season/Series 03 Compliant, Self-Harm, Zo is a potty mouth, community trope bingo Round 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-13 19:26:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5714281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meridianrose/pseuds/meridian_rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo and Riario are immortal. Leo wants to experiment by chopping off body parts. Zo is too hung-over for this.<br/>Or the one where Zo has to point out that even if Riario can't physically damage himself, having a death wish is not "fine".</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Much Left Unspoken

**Author's Note:**

> Discussion of past suicide attempts, temporary character deaths, and self-harm.  
> I didn't intend for this to become a series but seeing the prompt on my trope bingo made me want to write a stand alone sequel to "Who Wants to Live Forever". As with that fic, this title and the series title all come from lyrics to Queen songs associated with the "Highlander" movie.

Zo woke up to the sounds of an argument.

After the excitement of saving Florence, Nico was with Vanessa at the Palace, while, Leo's studio having been damaged in a blaze started by Carlo de Medici, Leo and Zo and Andrea were camping out at The Little Flea.

And Riario was there, for some reason. Leo said he'd shown up in the nick of time, probably saved him and Andrea both, and had killed Carlo. Which was too convenient for Zo's liking.

Saving Leo, however suspiciously opportune his arrival had been, earned Riario a point in Zo's book, but it did nothing to erase all the red marks against him for past deeds, including throwing Zo overboard with his hands tied.

After that Zo had drunk enough to let himself sleep and left Leo and Riario talking by the fireside. Until he had been awoken by their bickering.

Dragging himself upright and blinking bleary eyes he staggered over to where Riario was trying to stop Leo doing something stupid.

Leo had a knife in his hand, his fingers splayed out on a table. Riario noticed Zo and actually looked glad to see him, which made Zo immediately concerned about the situation.

"What's going on?" he asked, absent-mindedly scratching at his chin.

"Leonardo is about to cut off his finger," Riario said in a way that reminded Zo of a child telling a parent of the Terrible Thing their sibling was about to do. Zo was slightly hung-over and in any case never inclined to be the responsible one in the group, but in Leo's case he would sometimes be called upon to make an exception. Especially when neither Nico nor Vanessa was around to be the voice of reason.

"What the fuck?" Zo said, because maybe he'd misheard or maybe Leo really was about to do something ridiculous and the response seemed to cover both situations.

"It's all right," Leo said. "I'm only going to take off the tip. Anyway, I'm immortal."

Zo closed his eyes and wished he could go back to sleep. He forced himself to open his eyes and to step forward. He wrested the knife from Leo.

"I know people say great artists are immortal," he said, trying to be gentle, "but they don't mean it literally."

Leo frowned. "You don't understand. We're immortal. We can't die."

"That is not the same as cutting body parts off," Riario protested. "We cannot be sure they will grow back."

Leo looked half-convinced at this, sweeping back a lock of hair that had fallen across his face, though he said, "We won't know unless we try."

"Not your hands, artista," Riario begged.

This was not a good morning. Zo was agreeing with Riario.

"Leo," Zo said, rubbing at his face. "Let me get something to eat and then you can tell me all about your latest crazy scheme, eh?"

"It's not a scheme," Leo protested. "But fine. We probably need to eat. I mean we might die of starvation eventually but we'd revive, I suppose."

Riario gave him a dark look. "That is a death I am not eager to try and experience."

#

After Zo had eaten and Andrea had awoken and gone to inspect the studio, Leo began to tell his story. Or more specifically, Riario's.

Riario stood, stoic, arms folded behind his back, staring off into the distance while Leo sat opposite Zo, all manic energy and rambling asides. He recounted Riario's multiple suicide attempts with enthusiasm, and Zo knew it was because Leo was interested in the mechanics of his survival. Yet he couldn't help feeling that Leo was missing the point.

It was an incredible tale that ended with Leo deciding he was also immortal. Zo was of the opinion that they'd been at the milk of the poppy and were not in their right minds.

"If you're immortal, why the scars?"

"My hypothesis is that the first death leaves a mark," Leo said, running his fingers over the silvery line that marked his stab wound. Even Zo had to admit that was weird and hard to explain.

"Why you two?"

"He has a hypothesis for that too," Riario said, stirring from his trance. There was a note of affection in his tone when he added, "That is why I came to him. Even if his initial answers prove false, Leonardo will continue to try and discover the truth."

Leo grinned. "I think it has something to do with the Vault of Heaven," he said. "We were the Sun and the Moon. I think it changed us."

Zo thought about the injuries Riario had suffered when they escaped, how he'd been lucky to live at all, and wondered if the first death really had been at his own hands. The scars were problematic though, given that other wounds received since left no trace, or so Riario and Leo were claiming. Oh, hell, he was buying into their shared delusion now.

"So I'm not immortal?" Zo asked.

Leo shrugged. "I don't know. And we probably shouldn't kill you to try and find out."

"Cheers to that," Zo said.

"At least not until I've figured things out. Which I was trying to do."

Zo shook his head. "Leo, listen. When Riario and I agree on something it must be important and we agree on this. No chopping off body parts."

Leo looked like he'd been told there was to be no dessert.

"Zoroaster has a point," Riario said. "But he still does not believe. He will not, until he sees proof, preferably something that does not involve you removing a fingertip."

Leo stared at the ceiling. "I could jump off the roof," he suggested hopefully and was shouted down by both men.

"Allow me," Riario said. He folded back one sleeve exposing the damaged skin at his wrist, and held out his other hand. Zo stared at him. "The knife, if you please?"

Zo shook his head. "No. Neither of you are getting hold of any sharp implements right now."

"He stuck his hand in the fire, did I mention that?" Leo said, taking his turn to tell tales on Riario.

Zo rubbed at his face. He needed a drink, hair of the dog and all that. It still had not occurred to Leo that Riario's keenness to shed his blood might be problematic. Leo never minded getting a little hurt in the pursuit of science, but Zo could see from here that Riario's desire to inflict pain had nothing to do with experimentation.

"I would have thought you would welcome the chance to bury a blade in my chest," Riario said, challenging Zo.

"Not like this," Zo said. In a fair fight maybe, but this was wrong.

Leo sighed. He put his thumb into his mouth, biting down hard before Zo could react. Blood welled up, the skin tearing as Zo wrenched Leo's hand away.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he demanded. He blinked as he made to dab at the damage with his sleeve. The wound was healing before his eyes.

"Told you," Leo said with the sort of smugness that made even Zo want to punch him in the face.

Zo released Leo and sat down heavily. "Fuck."

"I know," Leo said, excited as a child with a new toy.

"I need a drink," Zo said. "I think there's some good stuff in the cellar, near the back." He kicked Leo's leg under the table, shooting him a look that he hoped read 'stay put'.

Riario took the bait. "I shall try and locate it," he offered and went on the errand.

As soon as he judged that Riario was out of earshot Zo leaned over to Leo.

"You need to deal with Riario."

"He's no threat to me," Leo said, misunderstanding. "He saved me. Well, tried to."

Zo sighed. "No, Leo. I mean you said he tried to kill himself."

"Yes, but he's immortal."

"Multiple times," Zo went on. "There was the wrist cutting and the river and then there was, what, a couple of hangings?"

"That's what he told me."

Zo shook his head. "Leo, that's messed up."

"He's fine."

"He is not fine," Zo hissed. "People who are fine do not stick their hands in fires or get so eager to slice their arms open again. No, Leo. Immortal or not, he's clearly not right."

Leo glanced around. There was no sign of Riario. "Of course he's upset," Leo confided.

No shit, Zo thought but held his tongue.

"He thinks he'll never see heaven," Leo explained. "That's why he came to me. To undo what he calls this curse."

Zo rolled his eyes. "After failing to kill himself he came to you in the hopes you'd find a way to do it, and you think he's fine?"

"Well he can't die," Leo began. "Or do himself any permanent harm."

"As far as you know," Zo interrupted. "And that doesn't make it all right. He needs watching." Somehow he was arguing with Leo about Riario's wellbeing. Maybe he was the one who was mad after all.

Leo considered for a moment. "I'm keeping an eye on him."

Which would last about five minutes, in Zo's experience. Until Leo was distracted by something shiny.

"You should talk to him," Zo said. "Even if he keeps healing physically, you don't know what it might do to his mind. He's fucked up already. What if he turns even more evil or something? If he can't die he'll murder others in his place, send them to heaven?"

Leo stared at him. "That's a horrible thing to say."

"It's a horrible thing to think, but if I can think of it, that prick can," Zo said, and it felt good to insult Riario again and attempt to throw off the sympathy he couldn't quite shake for him. To be so broken as to invite death not once but over and over. He suppressed a shudder. "Maybe there are things he isn't telling you." Or that Leo wasn't actually hearing, caught up in the excitement.

"I'll talk to him," Leo promised and that was about as good as it would get and Riario chose that moment to return with a dusty bottle of something that would hopefully get Zo blissfully drunk, so for the moment, Zo let it go.

**Author's Note:**

> The most Zo-centric fic I've written to date.  
> FWIW I don't think Leo is deliberately ignoring Riario's issues, he is just caught up in the excitement of being immortal and the possibilities. He also hasn't (yet) been to Ottranto, so he's not lost all his arrogance, isn't a bundle of emotions himself at this point.  
> This started out as a fun take on Leo's reaction to being immortal and Zo's attempts to rein him in and then it got a lot more serious and angst-ridden than I'd initially intended :/


End file.
